The Twentieth-Century British Written Press: Main Landmarks, (R)evolutions, and Influences

This chapter explores the evolutions of the British press in the twentieth century and how Fleet Street came to play a key role, not only in the national media landscape, but also in shaping the social, political and cultural life of the country. This contribution first identifies the ground-breaking changes that have revolutionised the print industry over the last hundred years (“tabloidization”, digitalisation, etc.), with special focus on new publications, the increasingly competitive media market, the impact of technological progress and the building of media empires. Relationships between the Fourth Estate and politicians are then studied, especially through the press coverage of wars, social and industrial conflicts, and electoral campaigns. Finally, this contribution includes five “focuses” on the Sun newspaper, on the coverage of elections, the miners’ strike (1984–1985), the treatment of gender, and the 2016 European referendum.